The Terror of Death Unleashed
by k-su
Summary: Ovan wants Haseo to get stronger, but at what price? What happens when Ovan gets impatient and decides to help Haseo the only way he knows he can...by breaking him? Some HaseoxAlkaid with alittle HaseoxAtoli
1. Part 1

The Terror of Death Unleashed

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Synopsis: Ovan wants Haseo to get stronger, but Ovan is getting impatient. So what happens when he decides to help Haseo along the only way he knows how...by breaking him? What will be the result of Ovan's plans? Note: The characters may be just alittle OOC, but I tried to stay as close as I could to the original. Theres quite a bit of HaseoXAlkaid with alittle HaseoXAtoli, too. This story occurs during volume 2 of the G.U. series but follows down a slightly different path, so you'll see some major scenes the same as in the games, but some others that are either altered a bit or taken out completely. Anyways, I hope you like it and please feel free to critique/review me.

This is Part1 of my .hack//G.U. fanfic. The characters depicted in this story are not the author's (k-su), but are the creative property of .hackConglomerate as well as any other repective owners.

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Azure rings descend from the sky as a black figure materializes before a grand cathedral. The silver haired young man began making his way up the stairs with a fixed gaze on the large doors before him, his black armor clattering with every step he made. The only thought that crossed his mind was Why? Why had Ovan summoned him?

As he entered the brightly lit cathedral, his eyes wondered down the aisles on both sides, shifting back and forth until his gaze moved to the altar in the very front. A tall, tanned man stood before the altar, back turned to the young man. His left arm appeared to be locked away by a large cylinder-shaped container that rested at his side. Suddenly, the tall man spoke.

"Welcome, Haseo."

"What do you want Ovan," Haseo grudgingly asked the man. The relationship between Haseo and Ovan had taken a negative turn over the course of the last few months. Haseo's eyes could not hide the bitterness he held towards his former guild master.

"Haseo, I'm hurt."

"Save it, Ovan. Just get to the point."

"Very well…"

The white-clad steam gunner turned to face the adept rogue as he began. "Haseo, I called you here to give you a warning."

"A warning, huh?"

Haseo found himself slumped over on a bridge, looking out into the waters that ran through Mac Anu. It was the first time he'd visited the bridge in months. It was here that he used to seek advice from the old man Phyllo. He could imagine the small brown beast character floating above the railing next to him, as he would impart advice and wisdom to Haseo during his early days in The World. Phyllo was always there, no matter what, but now no one remained. Phyllo had died months ago, much to Haseo's grief.

Haseo pondered the words Ovan spoke to him before, back at the cathedral. Ovan said on my current path, I'd never be strong enough to stop AIDA or Tri-edge, he thought out loud.

"Hey there, Haseo. What are you doing there all by yourself."

Haseo turned to face a small character wearing a plaid skirt, long striped stockings and a big hat that pointed up on one end and down on the other end, adorned with small sun and moon symbols suspended above the points.

"Hey, Bo. I was just thinking about some stuff. What are you doing around here?"

"Oh, nothing. I just got a new accessory from the guild shop that raises my spell casting abilities. You want to see?"

Haseo stared back at the eager Bo for a moment before answering. "Yeah, sure." Bo held out his hand, revealing a gold-encrusted bangle with wave characters engraved in a pattern around it. "That's pretty cool," Haseo replied as he read the stats and description of the item.

Bo put away his bangle, then turned back to Haseo. "Well, its time for me to go. Me and some friends were gonna go try that Gathering Shadow quest in Dol Dona. I hope you feel better, Haseo. Bye." Bo waved as the silver-haired young man watched him leave. "Bo…he's a good kid," the black PC thought to himself.

Tri-edge is a challenge that you alone must overcome…alone.

Ovan's words lingered in Haseo's mind. Alone, huh? So are you saying that after all that's happened, Ovan, I should just forget about Bo? About everybody? Are they really a hindrance to me?

As he continued to ponder about these matters, Haseo remembered that he had somewhere to be.

Standing idle by the chaos gate in Celestial City Dol Dona, Haseo awaited the arrival of two more party members. Today, they had agreed to do some training in preparation for the third round of the Holy Palace tournament. This would also give their team a good chance to bond, given the strange tension he could feel between his teammates.

Lately Haseo felt like he was in the middle of a tug of war, with Alkaid and Atoli seeking his attention. Atoli seems somewhat jealous of the former arena empress and Alkaid didn't help matters with her teasing. The other day, Alkaid had taken Haseo on a training mission without the harvest cleric, then told Atoli about how the two had gone on some 'hot, super-secret training' which really put the adept rogue in an awkward situation. However, they had managed to make it through the first two rounds of the tournament, so the situation wasn't unbearable.

Atoli…Alkaid…

Their names lingered in the black PC's mind. For some reason, he felt rather warmly towards the two all of a sudden. But why? It was true that Atoli and Haseo had progressively grown closer over the past few months, so that much was to be expected. However, he and Alkaid had only been friends since entering the tournament, yet they seemed to have grown fairly close in this short time, also.

As he continued to daydream about his two partners, he didn't realize that the two had already arrived.

"Hey, Haseo. Ready to go?"

"Sorry to make you wait."

"Huh," Haseo looked up and nearly fell back at the sight of the two female players.

"Atoli. Alkaid. What are you two doing here?" Alkaid placed her hands on her hips and leaned in close to Haseo's face. "Don't tell me you already forgot. Jeez, Haseo. Training, remember?" Haseo lowered his eyes. "Oh yeah. Sorry about that." Alkaid backed off after seeing his unusually submissive response, as Atoli stared with worried eyes at his expression.

"Haseo, is something wrong," The harvest cleric inquired. Haseo didn't want anyone worried about him so he shrugged it off. "No, just daydreaming, I guess." He didn't want to continue the conversation because he knew that he'd end up snapping at his partners and that's the last thing Haseo wanted. So he headed to the chaos gate, Alkaid and Atoli close behind.

"So, what kind of keywords are we using this time?"

"Well, Master Zelkova gave me come keywords for…"

"Actually, Atoli, I have some keywords of my own."

"Oh, ok," Atoli said, somewhat disappointed as Haseo entered in his keywords. "We're heading to Dancing, Her, Snow Caps." After preparations were complete, Haseo's party was whisked away in rings of azure light.

To Be Continued...


	2. Part 2

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This is Part 2 of my .hack//G.U. fanfic. These characters are not my own, but are the creative property of .hack Conglomerate and any other respective owners. With that said, lets begin.

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Dancing, Her, Snow Caps was a grassland field-type, divided into several plots of land surrounded by water, which were only connected by bridges. The sun hung low in the sky, covering everything in an orange glow as Haseo and company set out on their training mission.

"Ok, our mission is to defeat the boss, but let's not neglect any of the other monsters around here, either." Haseo's map indicated that the boss was on the other side of the area. Alkaid and Atoli expressed their acknowledgment of the mission objective and then they headed off to their first encounter. Upon crossing the bridge, the trio noticed the formation of a cylindrical blue battle fence up, indicating someone was in a battle. After conferring with his teammates they decided to head into the battle area. Inside they found an edge punisher being bombarded by spells at the hands of a shadow warlock.

Ignoring the pleading of the edge punisher for help, Haseo drew his Broad Legged sword and charged in for a frontal attack, and caught the pking spell caster offguard. Atoli concentrated on healing the injured edge punisher, while Alkaid activated a skill trigger. Zooming across the battle area, she yelled:

"Whirlwind!"

Alkaid delivered four diagonal slashes across the warlock, before ending the attack with a spin, spearing the enemy in the chest with both blades. Soon the PK's body faded and the battle fence began to dissipate as experience points were divided among the victors. The grateful edge punisher expressed his gratefulness to them for saving him and left Haseo with an accessory item before leaving the area.

Haseo's party continued on their way, cutting their way through hordes of enemies on their way to the area boss. From floating fairies to scorpions on wheels, Team Haseo's training was going pretty well. Their teamwork improved quite a bit, Haseo and Alkaid coordinating their attacks and Atoli taking more advantage of the battle area. Atoli's offense even began to improve as she began using more attack magic to support her party members.

On the other hand, there was an awkward silence between the usually chatty three as continued towards the boss. Haseo was trying to focus all his energy into fighting, so as to get his mind off of Atoli and Alkaid. Atoli was still worried about Haseo, so she watched him closely while Alkaid noticed that they both seemed a little distracted.

They finally came upon large plot of land where the area boss resided. It was a large owl-like creature with wings forming the shape of hands at the end. The boss monster sat in wait for whoever dared to enter his midst.

"Alright, are you ready for this," was the first thing Haseo had said since he told them the game plan at the start of their training mission. "Just try to keep up," Alkaid answered with a fire in her eyes. "Right!" Atoli exclaimed.

Haseo readied his weapon and began positioning himself for a surprise attack, but before he had the chance, Alkaid quickly delivered the first strike. "Come on, Haseo. Lets go," she grinned back at Haseo as she began the assault. Haseo smirked in response as he charged in, with Atoli not far behind.

Revving up his Broad Legged sword, he began delivering powerful consecutive attacks to widdle down the monster's health points, while setting himself up for a Rengeki. With Haseo drawing the bird's attention, Alkaid came around behind the creature, unleashing a barrage of twin blade strikes and Atoli cast stat increasing magic on the party's two attackers.

The whole time, the bird seemed to just stand there, as if unfazed by their attacks, but then it suddenly started flapping its enormous wings and a whirlwind began to materialize before Haseo, who was directly in front of the beast. Haseo dug into the ground before him with his sword, trying to defend as best he could against the strong winds assaulting his PC. Alkaid moved back a safe distance and waited for the winds to die down before continuing the attack, watching to see how Haseo was holding up against the attack, which brought his health down halfway.

As Atoli set to healing him, Haseo headed straight back in to confront the strong opponent, hacking away at its numerous health points, dodging its beak as it attempted to pierce Haseo. Then, without warning, the beast spun around, quickly striking at Alkaid, while Haseo guarded against its tail feathers as they slammed into him

The red headed twin blade was knocked back by the power of the large owl's attacks, which halved her health, but soon Alkaid's health went back to the safe zone after a few Atoli's chanted a healing spell over her.

From behind, Alkaid launched a barrage of dual sword strikes on the bird and with her speed, she was able to avoid significant damage. The moment the owl turned to meet the threat of Alkaid, Haseo stepped in with his broadsword and delivered an upwards slash, taking away a small chunk out of the boss' health points and effectively drawing its attention away from Alkaid.

Ducking under the large tail feathers, Alkaid activated a skill trigger.

"Sword Dance!"

Alkaid's PC gracefully moved in place, blades outstretched, in a spiraling motion reminiscent of a dance. The damage she dealt pushed the boss' health to a little over half remaining as well as set up the boss for a follow up from Haseo. As purple rings began spiraling around the owl monster, Haseo activated his own skill trigger in preparation for a Rengeki. The most effective attack would be a broadsword attack. Normally, he'd use his most powerful attack, but he decided to conserve his SP, like he would in the arena.

RENGEKI!

"Bone Crusher!"

Haseo's body began to glow as he dashed towards the owl, carving into it chest, putting his body behind every strike as he pulled a halfway spin, swinging the blade in semi-circular motion around himself to the right, then left, followed by another powerful strike right. As the name implies, this devastating attack brought the feathered creature's health down to nearly a third. Soon, the moral gauge was filled to the max.

Haseo decided to switch weapons to better facilitate a team attack with Alkaid and to build up the moral gauge quicker, but while cycling through his inventory, his eyes stopped on a pair of dual swords called Lit Honeysuckle.

The battle was pretty much over when they activated Beast Awakening. The field turned fiery red as the boss' movements slowed to a crawl. The moral gauge began to slowly run out as the party unleashed massive damage on the beast. After about ten seconds of unimpeded attacking, they finally brought the enemy down.

As the battle ended and experience was divvied out, Haseo stared down at Lit Honeysuckle and began to reminisce. It was just the other day he received these blades from Alkaid as a gift. A very precious gift considering the message they sent.

Do you know the meaning of honeysuckle? He had asked the red-head that very question after receiving her gift. She responded with silence as she stared at the adept rogue's face, awaiting his reply.

"Devoted affection."

She gasped at the realization of the message she sent to him with those blades. Face completely red, she stammered as she tried to reassure him that wasn't what she meant, but she couldn't and in the end, she ran away.

He began to smile as he thought of Alkaid's face at that moment and looked down at the swords she gave him. Alkaid, celebrating with Atoli, looked back at Haseo still holding Lit Honeysuckle and she her grin became a smile, as she felt warmness towards Haseo. Atoli also looked up and noticed calmness in the air and she too smiled at her two partners.

To Be Continued...


	3. Part 3

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Here's part 3 of my retelling of the G.U. Story. After this, things should pick up in the next part. I like to build up to things I guess. Anyways, these are not my characters and arhe intellectual property of .hack Conglomerate as well as any other owners and have full rights to these character. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment.

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In the darkness of the night, a player franticly ran through a green field, constantly looking over her shoulders. There were no monsters about, nor were any treasure boxes or anything for that matter. Off in the distance, the twin blade could faintly see the glow of the warp gate. A grin crossed her face as she picked up speed, the fan on her back swaying violently behind her.

Only a little farther, she kept telling herself as she could now make out the form of the warp gate. Never had she been so eager to leave an area, but soon that eagerness turned to despair as she looked over back once more, seeing nothing there. As she shifted her gaze ahead of her, her eyes widened as a figure cloaked in the darkness of the night stood before her with glowing azure eyes.

Gritting her teeth, the player drew her dual swords and stood at the ready against the dark figure. Her opponent however only stood there, his eyes fixated on the small frame of the female PC. Soon, the figures eyes slanted in a terrifyingly evil expression which made the twin blade lose much of her resolve, as he rose his arms, revealing a pair of twisted-looking dual swords, which seemed to spring to life in a glow of azure flame.

As she began to back away, the figure crossed his arms, overlapping the demonic blades he held in his hands and in the next instant, a red head dashed at her pursuer, but was pierced by a glowing red mark, which scorched the land they stood on.

At that very moment, everything became as black and white as the dark PC melted away leaving only the twin blade falling like a gentle feather in the breeze. Her character beginning to break down into strings of binary, all she could bring herself to say before disappearing from The World was, "Haseo…."

"Alkaid!"

Ryou Misaki awoke suddenly, panting and covering in sweat. After giving himself a few moments to recover, he realized that it was only a nightmare. But was it really only a nightmare? To him, it felt more like a premonition. If what Ovan said was true, then Tri-Edge is after everyone close to Haseo in The World.

Haseo had already lost someone important to him at the hands of Tri-Edge and he was still fighting to get her back. What would he do if he lost another person to Tri-Edge? The very thought of it made Ryou grit his teeth, much like his in-game persona, Haseo.

He looked over at his alarm clock. It was still early, but he didn't feel much like going back to sleep after yet another bad dream, so he got up from his bed and commenced to getting himself ready for the day. It was Sunday, meaning no school, so he was free to venture into The World without interruption.

Donning his FMD goggles, Ryou took in a deep breath and logged in.

Touching down in Dol Dona, Haseo immediately received a jolt from the sight of a large metal-clad Lord Partisan over his shoulder.

"GREETINGS, HE OF FAIR EYES!"

Haseo spun around to face the golden PC, whose armor was so bright, Haseo's eyes hurt from the very sight of him.

"Piros, what the hell?! Don't stand so close to me," Haseo told Piros as he tried to shield his eyes with a hand.

"OH SORRY! IS MY BURNING INTENSITY TOO MUCH FOR YOU, HE OF FAIR EYES?"

Sighing, Haseo suppressed his desire to kill Piros and instead decided to ask, "Why are you here, anyways, Piros?"

"WELL, YOU REMEMBER HOW I'VE BEEN TRACKING DOWN TRI-EDGE…"

"Stop right there. I told you to give it up. You can't take on Tri-Edge. He's too much for somebody like you to handle, so just leave him to me."

"BUT HE OF FAIR EYES…THIS IS NO LONGER A MATTER OF PROFESSIONAL PRIDE ANYMORE. NO…TRI-EDGE HAS GONE TOO FAR WITH THIS AND NOW…OUR COMRAD GASPARD…"

Haseo froze in place as Piros' words seem to evaporate into the endless void. Gaspard. Haseo couldn't believe it. No, it couldn't be true. How could this happen? Gaspard was always such a nice guy, who loved The World. To think that Tri-Edge would attack such a person made Haseo's blood boil. He looked away, his eyes lowered to the ground and a scowl on his face. Tri-Edge. For this, you must pay.

"Piros?"

"AH YES…HE OF FAIR EYES?"

"How did this…?! No, just take me there."

"TAKE YOU…?"

"To where it happened."

Piros remained silent as the two warped into Screaming Doomed Gate. The sunny sky and calm waters around them contrasted Haseo's conflicted thoughts. Once they arrived at the spot, underneath one of the many wooden bridges, Piros merely pointed at the burning sign before them, the trademark of Tri-Edge.

Upon seeing the final bits of binary dissipating, Haseo dropped to his knees. Images of Shino began to run rampant in his mind. For a moment he was overcome with painful emotions as his eyes widened. Suddenly, he remembered Ovan's words again.

_Tri-Edge's target is you and he will strike at you most vulnerable point…_

"My heart", Haseo muttered to himself as he stood up. "So, its true? Seems like Ovan's always right at my expense."

To Be Continued…


	4. Part 4

Sorry I took so long to update. Classes have been murder this semester, so I'll probably update once a month, if not more. Anyways, hope you like this chapter. Its alittle shorter this time around, but dont worry. I'll try to add more next time. Anyways, without further ado, part four. Oh and these characters, settings, etc are property of their respective owners.

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Deep within the Home of Raven guild, Haseo enters the top secret Project G.U. base of operations, aptly named The Serpent of Lore. As the black PC walked along the embroidered carpet lining the path, he looked up ahead, noticing the familiar ring that set in the wall, the image of a golden snake biting its own tail slowly rotating as light ran out from the ring into the circular chakras that lined to wall. As he came to a stop, Haseo's eyes rested on a tall, muscular figure that stood upon a platform, which levitated him before the spinning serpent. His arms crossed, Yatta only moved to adjust his glasses as he began to greet the adept rogue in usual fashion.

"Haseo, what brings you here?"

"Where is Tri-Edge?!"

Haseo immediately responded as he walked closer to the robed PC. "I need to find Tri-Edge, now!" Yata sternly look upon Haseo's expression for a moment. "So, this must be about the little beast player Gaspard from your guild, correct?"

"Just answer me, dammit! Where's Tri-Edge? You can find him, can't you?"

Yata let out a sigh before responding to Haseo's rants. "Haseo, you need to calm down."

"No I can't. Because of me…"

"Hmm?"

"Tri-Edge is targeting me. He's taking out everyone around me in The World."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ovan told me."

"Ovan?"

Yata was silent for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, two other PCs entered the Serpent of Lore. One was a very scantily clad female player, with long flowing pink hair was tied into two pigtails and two long bangs hanging down to the sides of her face. She wore a very stern look, covered by a set of glasses, which seemed to contradict her sense of fashion.

The other was a male PC wearing yellow and brown attire and whose usually cheerful grin was replaced with one of pain. His blue hair pulled back in a long ponytail, swayed to the left and the right as he approached Haseo.

"Hey, Haseo. I guess you hear about Gaspard, too?"

"Kuhn…"

Kuhn had been apart of Project G.U. along with Haseo, Pi, and Yata, but had recently distanced himself from the group due to differences of opinion. Kuhn had also been the original guild master for the Canard guild, whose ranks included Silabus and Gaspard, so Kuhn had been really close to Gaspard. Knowing this, Haseo wasn't too surprised to see Kuhn return.

"Yata, is there any way to locate Tri-Edge," Kuhn's spoke calmly as looked up to the Project G.U. leader.

"Even with the equipment we have here at the Serpent of Lore, we can do no more than monitor some areas and hope that we can spot him, somehow, but as for…"

"Then do it then," Haseo cut off Yata, "We have to do what we can now or else the victims are going to rack up!"

"Haseo, you do know that such an undertaking is likely to turn up a dead end?"

"I don't care. I have to find him and put an end to this."

"I'm with Haseo on this. If this continues…"

Yata, suddenly receiving a message, turned to face the spinning snake and activated a virtual screen which displayed the image of a figure beginning to dissipate. A large sign marked where Tri-Edge had struck and covered the hill that the body rested on.

"Old Man!"

Haseo recognized the fallen figure as Antares, the older character that been Haseo's arena mentor. Everyone stood in silent awe as the tengu-masked character finally vanished into nothing.


	5. Part 5

Been awhile, but finally was able to finish another piece and just in time for .hack/G.U. Trilogy's release (Got my copy!) Anyways this chapter is the precursor to some interesting developments, tho this chapter pretty much follows the storyline, aside from a few differences. Enjoy Part 5.

The characters, settings, etc depicted in this story are the intellectual property of CyberConnect 2, .hack Conglomerate, and all other rightful owners.

**PART 5**

It's been only a few days since Antares became a lost one, but Haseo still couldn't get the image out of his mind

It's been only a few days since Antares became a lost one, but Haseo still couldn't get the image out of his mind. After storming out of the Serpent of Lore, Haseo began trying to contact his party members to try and persuade them to take a break from The World. Of course, most wanted a reason, which Haseo wasn't comfortable with giving them, except for saying that their lives were in danger. Silabus was the only one to comply, believing in his guild-master.

Alkaid had been the most stubborn of them, especially considering they had a tournament bout today. Haseo having been distracted by Tri-edge's attacks, had forgotten about Sirius's AIDA infection. They needed to help Sirius, but he didn't want to get Alkaid involved with Tri-edge as well as AIDA. Alkaid was pretty adamant about being apart of things, though. Haseo could relate to her desire to save a friend, which is why in the end he decided to protect her as best as he could.

Appearing out of a spiral of light, Haseo headed up the stairs towards Lumina Cloth's tournament registration desk and stood idle as he waited for his team to arrive. "Our opponent this time is Team Bordeaux," he thought to himself. "That woman is a real pain."

"Haseo?"

He looked up at Atoli's face, so close that they almost touched. Haseo jumped back, startled. "Atoli!"

"Oh, sorry Haseo," she smiled as she stepped back. Then silence followed as they stood together waiting for Alkaid. "You know, Haseo, lately you've been in deep in thought. Is something the matter?"

"I already told you about Tri-edge..."

"That's not it. Even before then, you were acting like this."

Haseo remained silent as Atoli began to try to mentally probe Haseo.

"Hey, you guys ready to win?"

Alkaid jogged up the stairs to Haseo and Atoli, with an eager look on her face. Haseo let out a sigh of relief. "Good, they're both alright," he thought to himself. He fixed his eyes on the smiling faces of Atoli and Alkaid for a moment as they conversed, but quickly shifted his gaze away as a warm feeling began to enter him. "Let's go. It's about time for the match to begin," the black PC motioned towards the warp point, leading to the coliseum.

Inside, the roar of the anxious crowd filled the arena as Team Haseo appeared on the left platform. The announcer's voice rose high above the crowd as he and the guest announcer began to introduce the combatants. Across from the black adept rogue, 3 forms materialized in rings of light. A rather large, dark skinned man with full lips and tightly closed eyes stood to the left. To the right, a very thin, pale man stood hunched over, his hair styled like a vegetable. In the center, female form materialized last, but it was a warped image of the person Haseo had come to loath. The scantily clad character's body was covered in blotches of black, like one had dumped ink all over her. Tentacle-like protrusions stuck out of every black part, flailing about as if alive. She wore an unusually sadistic grin on her face as she began to address the surprised Haseo.

"Well, I'm surprised you actually showed up, Little Haseo, though it would have been better for you to have stayed home. This time, you have no chance to win against me, now that destiny smiles upon me."

"Destiny?" Haseo responded, slightly curious about her words. "Yes, my destiny has revealed itself to me, so that I may finally put you away, once and for all. There won't be anywhere to run, Little Haseo." Her grin grew even bigger as she pointed her sword at her opponent, who bared his teeth at her.

They appeared in the battle area as the blue fence went up around them. The large edge punisher Grein drew his massive blade as the small twin blade Negimaru brought out his dual swords. Haseo drew his scythe as Atoli and Alkaid readied their weapons for battle.

The roar of the crowd seemed to vanish into the background as Haseo fixed his eyes on Bordeaux intensely. "When did she get AIDA? Damn it! If I had known, I wouldn't have had Atoli or Alkaid fight. At this rate, the only thing I can do is to keep her away from them. The other two don't seem infected, so I doubt they'll be much trouble.

As the announcer called for the match to start, Haseo prepared for a difficult battle.

Next time, we'll see some real action as Team Haseo battles against Team Bordeaux, with the threat of AIDA looming over the collesium.


	6. Part 6

Sorry for the delay of Part 6. I've been really busy as of late, but to make up for it as well as PArt 5's shortness, I've made this chapter much longer. Enjoy Part 6, the Arena battle with Team Bordeaux.

Disclaimer: The characters and settings depicted in this story are the intellectual property of .hack Conglomerate.

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Fwoosh!

Haseo spun around just in time to watch as a black streak impaled Alkaid. His eyes widened as he stared at the lifeless expression on his partner's face as her eyes slowly closed. Small data particles began to appear around the twinblade's body as her data began to break down.

Haseo quickly turned to his other partner, but just as he began to form Atoli's name in his mouth, she instantly fell to Haseo's side. Haseo looked towards his infected opponent who merely grinned devilishly at the black pc. Suddenly, the sounds of the crowd, which had all but quieted in the background, began to pick up and a familiar voice called out to him.

"Haseo!"

Both Atoli and Alkaid stared worriedly at Haseo as he opened his eyes. _A dream?_ He thought to himself until he heard the cackle of Bordeaux. The scenes from before flashed in his mind and Haseo gritted his teeth, fueled with a ferocity he hadn't felt since his PKK days.

"What's the matter, Haseo? You're looking pretty small from where I'm standing. What happened? Did you shrink with fear at the thought of the beating you're about to get? Grein! Negimaru! Let's go!"

The cocky Alkaid was surprised by Haseo, who hadn't waited for her usual "Ready, Haseo" Atoli noticed it was well as they followed after. The look in his eyes was enough to send chills down both their spines.

Grein led the trio, followed by Negimaru and finally Bordeaux, almost as if in formation. The twinblade and the blade brandier broke from behind the large edge punisher as he and Haseo collided. The power of Grein's massive blade was almost intimidating, but Haseo used that power against him to get an upper hand. Immediately dropping all resistance against Grein's blade, Haseo dodged and hit him from the back with a sonic wave, sending him flying into the battle fence.

Scanning his surrounding, Haseo spied Negimaru as he started to engage Alkaid in a battle of speed, and Atoli casting stat buffers on her teammates. Bordeaux casually began walking towards the green harvest cleric who cast protection spells on herself and tried to keep her distance.

Surprisingly, Negimaru was able to stand up to the ex-arena empress, but such a feat was only short lived. As the two twin blades locked dual swords, Alkaid's eyes widened as a large curved blade seemingly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around his skinny neck. The adept rogue spun around, swinging the large scythe and after two revolutions, flung Negimaru at the tanned female. Upon connecting, both went plowing into the battle fence, but were able to recover quickly as Haseo positioned himself in the center of the battlefield.

Bordeaux sneered at her opponent and soon charged towards the former Terror of Death. Haseo readied himself to counter her attack. Suddenly, the tan red head was grinning again as she drew closer to Haseo. As he began to draw his scythe back, someone darted past him. Alkaid. Haseo could tell she was a putting her twin blade stats to full use so he had only one option. _Damn it_, he told himself as he quickly activated his skill trigger.

"HEAVENLY WHEEL!"

The black PC's body became covered in gold as he zipped past Alkaid and straight into the tainted blade of Bordeaux.

"HENGEKI! DISASTER SWORD!"

As quickly as he had come to the enemy leader, she had dispatched him to the other side of the field, crashing into the battle fence. A fourth of his health vanished as he struggled to get to his feet. His body felt numb with brief moments of shock coming over his body. The maniacal laugh of Bordeaux could be heard echoing around the arena, ringing in Haseo's ears.

_You're all mine_, Bordeaux thought to herself as she made a b-line for the paralyzed adept rogue. Haseo's eyes tightly closed as he anticipated her next attack.

"TRI-STRIKE!"

A golden streak ran across the field as Alkaid activated a skill trigger of her own. Three powerful slashes sent the aggressive Bordeaux sliding roughly across the ground. Haseo opened his eyes, looking up at Alkaid's glowing back protecting him.

"Haseo!" Atoli exclaimed as she sent him a recovery spell. Grein tried to interfere, but Alkaid held him off as Negimaru headed towards Haseo, who stood on the ready. With a great leap, Negimaru positioned himself high above the black armored character and descended upon him in a spiraling motion as Bordeaux again took the head on approach.

Haseo could feel his anger growing. He was mad at himself for allowing this scenario, but more so mad that these idiots keep getting in his way and how they had become a serious threat to his friends. _If I make them disappear_…, he thought to himself.

Looking over his shoulder, Grein saw the gang up on Haseo and broke off his struggle with Alkaid, who quickly overtook him, running circles around the big slow character.

"VAK DOM!"

Atoli invoked as the sky above Bordeaux appeared to open up, raining down bright red flames upon her, forcing her to the ground. Negimaru stared, shocked as Haseo spun his scythe over his head, watching as the veggie-headed twinblade came closer and closer. His hands stopped as the scythe pointed to the sky, to Negimaru who tried his best to brace for impact. Bouncing off the arched blade, he was able to land near his team leader who was struggling to get up.

Switching to his edge punisher weapon, Haseo charged towards the AIDA-infected enemy at full speed. Bordeaux noticed him and turned in such a way towards him, that it felt like time itself was crawling to a halt. Her grin grew bigger as she lunged at the approaching Haseo.

Their clash was very reminiscent of their first encounter in a moonlit desert. Haseo had the same look in his eyes from back then, something the tan blade brandier hadn't seen since. The same grin appeared on his face as back then as he remembered as well and told himself that nothing's changed.

Bordeaux detested Haseo for the humiliation of that day, and her grin soon faded to a deep scowl that stretched across her face. She could feel her blade being forced down, so she quickly withdrew as a great roar erupted above the Terror of Death. Grein descended upon Haseo, who reacted with a charge attack. As the large man went flying backwards some feet away, Atoli cast speed enhancing magic on the party. Haseo decided to switch to twin blades and dashed after the enemy leader, who was double teaming Alkaid with Negimaru.

The images from before and Ovan's words raced through his mind more and more as he got closer and then, it was quiet. Like the silence following a gunshot, everything cleared in mind and all he could see was the future, a future he determined at that moment.

"SWORD DANCE!"

Alkaid staved off her attackers and confronted Negimaru as Haseo went after Bordeaux, Grein following closely behind. Haseo, tracking Grein, slowed down and darted at him. Countering the massive blade of Grein, Haseo exhibited the incredible speed of his dual swords as he evaded the slow strikes of the Edge Punisher and devastated him with a barrage of swords strikes that he was unable to keep up with. Grein fell there and his character became like a ghost, fixed in place.

Bordeaux thrust her curvy sword at Haseo, who easily countered, spinning behind and delivered an "x" cut to her back. She stumbled forward, met by Haseo's knee. Her eyes widened as she looked into the glowing eyes of her adversary. Haseo drew his broadsword out, lifting Bordeaux up under her chin. An orange halo outlined Haseo's body as he prepared to strike.

"NO! DON'T!"

Atoli's voice resounded in Haseo's mind. As Alkaid wondered what qualms Atoli had with defeating their opponents, the glow soon dissipated and he looked calmer. Bordeaux, who remained frozen in place appeared to be relieved. _Its just like he told me_…, she thought, letting out a sigh. But Haseo's face instantly changed to an even worse expression.

Haseo began savagely striking his grounded enemy, The agony audibly experienced was unlike one who was losing at a game, but of one in real agony. Negimaru was unable to break off his fight with the persistent Alkaid and could only watch as his leader's health plummeted.

Just as Haseo prepared the final blow, Bordeaux let out such a terrible scream that Haseo was knocked back. The sharp, whip-like tentacles on her back sprang to life, sprawling about, extending and contracting. The black splotches on her body began to spread as Haseo's teammates stared on in disbelief. Black dots erupted from her left shoulder as she stood to her feet.

"Pretty good, little Haseo. Pretty good, but it's still not enough. You can't keep me down anymore. I won't allow that humiliation…EVER AGAIN!!"

The ground shook as the lively black tentacles rushed towards Haseo's party. Alkaid stood at the ready as Haseo switched to his flick reaper weapon again, unleashing a sonic wave to deflect the tentacles. Bordeaux's grin only grew more distorted as she turned towards her remaining party member who wasn't quite sure what was happening.

Her arm stretched out across the field to him as the dots grew larger behind the AIDA infected player. With a scream, Negimaru was drawn into the black void, vanishing from view as Bordeaux's body began to vanish. The very ground Haseo stood on was gone as he again ventured into avatar space. Haseo looked around, searching for whatever warped form the AIDA would take on.

--

Preview for Part 7: After the events of the arena battle, Haseo loses confidence in his ability to protect his friends and decides to follow the path of destruction. Hurtful words are exchanged between Haseo and Alkaid as they part ways, leaving Atoli all alone. Tragedy strikes again, but this time the fingers are pointed at Haseo, who has gone missing, despite being logged in. What will Alkaid do when she finds Haseo?


End file.
